Mwana Africa, the Africa focused resource developer, has entered into a joint venture with Chinese player Zhejiang Hailiang for a copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The agreement covers 28 licences owned by Societe d'exploration Miniere du Haut Katanga (SEMHKAT), in which Mwana has a 100% holding. The total area amounts to over 4,000 square kilometres in the Katanga province of the DRC.
Under the agreement, Hailiang will invest $25m over four years, eventually earning a 62% voting interest in the project.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Hailiang also has a further six month option over the Kibolwe prospect, also in the DRC. If it exercises this option, it will invest a further $15m and the prospect will become a development company.
Kalaa Mpinga, Chief Executive Officer of Mwana, said: "The Hailiang Group is an established player in the copper industry and today's $40m agreement reinforces the prospectivity of our SEMHKAT copper licences in the DRC.
"This joint venture allows our copper exploration and development programmes, in what is Africa's highest grade copper belt, to be significantly accelerated.
"We are also very excited at the prospect of advancing Kibolwe in the near term. This agreement is the first example of the Chinese related opportunities available to the company following the introduction of China International Mining Group Corporation to the share register earlier this year."
Mwana shares were up 7% at 11:01.
BS
-
Tipping culture: when to tip and how much is too much?Travel Tipping culture in one country can be very different from another. If you want to know when to tip, when to skip, and how much to give – we’ve got you covered
-
Do you qualify for the Winter Fuel Payment if you live abroad?The Winter Fuel Payment will be means tested for expats living in Europe, in line with the new rules impacting those in the UK. But a quirk in the system means not all countries are eligible.
